TAKING LIBERTIES: WE ARE BEING WATCHED
Britan has quietly become the most spied-upon nation in Europe. How? Why? And does it matter? Charles Nevin goes to Manchester, London, Berlin and Bucharest to compare, contrast and discuss ... read more »
"RAGTIME" AND THE AMERICAN DREAM
On the eve of an American holiday reserved for beer and fireworks, Daniel Arizona considers the nature of a national "spirit". E.L. Doctorow's novel "Ragtime" offers some guidance ... read more »
SLAPSTICK EXISTENTIALISM ON BROADWAY
Is Studio 54 the right spot for the ultimate existential protest against the empty avarice of the post-war era? If you're looking for a good time, writes Kitty Kaletsky ... read more »
WAITING FOR MAGIC IN MACEDONIA
Herdelezi is an annual celebration common to Roma that involves a big toad, a volley of gunfire and some home-made brandy. A correspondent for Economist.com observes the spectacle ... read more »
MORE THAN JUST PRETTY FACES
Ideas of beauty have changed considerably over the last 60 years. This at least is the idea behind "The Model as Muse", a diverting exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Molly Young investigates ... read more »
WILLIAM BOYD'S DEBT TO RUDOLF LEOPOLD
For the fourth piece in our Authors on Museums series, William Boyd celebrates the Leopold Museum in Vienna, which is a shrine to his favourite artist—and a tribute to the vision of an art-loving ophthalmologist ... read more »
DODGING BODIES AND RUNNING ON EMPTY
Lagos is a funny place, where sanitised modernity brushes up against quotidian brutality. Just try taking a taxi, writes a correspondent to Economist.com ... read more »
Comment of the moment
quote Trying is not a simple, straightforward task. Even crafting goals - as distinct from pursuing them - is something we can iterate and improve at, and depression is the feedback we get that we have chosen goals badly. Like the pain that accompanies touching a hot stove, the depression that comes from aiming for a star too high lets us learn about our place in the world ...